Trolley-frog.



w. H. BROWN.

TROLLEY FROG.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. I915.

1,149,721 Patented Aug. .10, 1915.

Ill 1' v glrillllb a I! the same has become sufiiciently worn to WILLIAM H. BnowN, on JEROME, PnNNsYLvANIA.

TROLLEY-FROG.

Application filed March 26, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BROWN,

a citizen of the United States, residingatv Jerome, in the county of Somerset and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Frogs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in trolley frogs.

The present invention aims to provide a trolley frog including a removable central wearing plate that may be removed andreplaced with a new one when the same becomes worn or otherwise injured. In trolley frogs of the type disclosed, there is a serious wear on the frog plate between the wire connecting flanges caused by arcing of the trolley wheel in leaving one flange and passing over the said plate to the other flange, which arcing gradually wears away the frog. The present invention aims to obviate this defect and provides a detachable central plate positioned between the wire flanges and which plate may be readily removed and replaced with a new one when warrant the change.

The above objects are attined by certain details of construction, the preferred embodiment of which is shown in the accompanying drawing and in further describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the drawing by like charactersdesignating correspondingparts throughout the several views and wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of a trolley frog built in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side'elevational view of the same. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 4: is a cross-sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line VV of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detailperspective view of the wearing plate removed from the frog. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the wire clamping block, and, Figs. 8 and 9 are detail perspective views of a modified form of wearing plate and seat support therefor.

Referringmore in detail to-the accompanying drawing, the reference numeral 10 designates the top wall of the trolley frog which is provided with a pair of spaced reinforcing ribs 11- extending beyond the plate 10 at one end thereof to provide the upper side walls 12 of a wire clamp 13, while the Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No..17,196.

wire clamp 13'as shown in Fig. 3 depends from one end of the bottom wall 14. The other ends of the ribs 11 extend beyond the other end of the frog. as indicated at 15 and have the ribs 16 cooperating therewith to provide U-shaped wire clamps 17, which clamps project, inwardly on the other end of the bottom face 14. Trolley wires 18 are received in. the clamps 13 and 17 and are held. in fixed position relative to the, frog by clamping devices.

The clamping device for holding the single trolley wire at one end of the frog in position includes a pair of shoulders 19 formed integral with the rib extensions 12 and which shoulders are adapted to support a cap 20 secured in position by the screws 21, this construction affording a central space betweenthe shoulders and in which space is mounted a block 22 adapted to be engaged by the follower screw 23 for forcing the block into positive engagement with the trolley wire 18.

The. inner ribs 16 cooperating with the rib extensions 15 carry an integral spanning member 2i while the rib extensions 15' carry integral outwardly disposed shoulders 25, which shoulders, together with the spanning member 2 f constitute a support for the. caps 26 held in position thereon by the fastening screws 27. Blocks 28 with bottom curved faces. similar to the block 22 are. positioned within the wire clamps 17- beneath the caps 26 and are forced into locking engagement with the trolley wires 18 by the follower screws 29. The upper wall'10 of the frog adjacent the wire clamps 17 is provided with a substantially V-shaped shouldered portion 30 forming a continuation of the ribs 16 and cooperating with the ribs 11 to provide guides for; the trolley wires.

In Fig. 7 there is disclosed a block that is adapted to be received on the shouldered portion 30 and forced into engagement with the trolley wires 1.8,.thisblock including a head portion 31 centrally apertured as at 32 and carrying side flanges 33, the bottom edges of which are-curved and provided with teeth 34 adapted for engagement with the trolley wires. A fastening bolt 35 passes through the opening 32 in the block and through an opening provided in the shouldered portion 30, whereby the block flanges 33 are forced into locking engagement with the trolley wires to further hold Patented Aug. 10, 1915.

.. portion 38 is provided in the bottom wall 14 of the frog, while the side flanges 36 are provided with slots 39 alining with the said seat. One end wall of the seat and slots in the flanges is arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the frog as indicated at 40 while the other end wall of the seat and slots is angularly-disposed relative to the aforesaid end wall as indicated at 41 to provide a substantially wedge-shaped seat.

A removable point member or wear plate is associated with the trolley frog and is shown in detail in Fig. 6, the same comprising a body-portion 42 having the side walls thereof beveled as at 43 while each of the end walls are coincidentally curved relative to the flanges 36. cut at an angle relative to the other side wall and when the wearing plate 42 is positioned in the frog, the ends 43 thereof engage the ends of the end walls 40 and 41 of the frog seat and flange slots. An apertured lug 44 is carried by one side of the frog and is adapted to have the opening thereof register with the opening 45 provided in the wearing plate extension 46, while a key 47 is adapted to be passed through such openings to retain the wearing plate 42 in position. In order to further lock the wearing plate in assembled position with respect to the frog, I have provided a pair of spaced screws 48 passing through the upper wall of the frog and en gaging the end of increased width of the wear plate.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction and operation thereof will be readily apparent, and in the position shown in Fig. 2, it will be noted that the wearing plate 42 is held'in substantially rigid condition by the screws 48 engaging the upper face of the same to force the wearing plate" into positive engagement with the frog flanges, while the locking pin 47 further prevents movement of the plate relative to the frog. When the plate 42 becomes broken or otherwise injured after successive use, the key 47 may be removed from the alined openings in the frog and wearing plate and the screws 48 loosened, at which time the said wearing plate may be moved laterally through the slots in the flanges 36 to replace the same with a new one if desired.

In Figs. 8 and 9 there is shown a modified form of wearing plate 42 in which the end I walls are beveled or undercut as at 43,

while the end walls of the seat are beveled One of the side walls is as at 40, as are also the end walls" of the shown in Fig. 9, the screws cause the contacting beveled ends to positively engage each other and hold the assembled parts in locked position.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of the present invention, I do not wish to confine myself to the exact details of construction shown, as various forms, modifications and arrangements of the parts may be had without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is 1. A trolley frog including a bottom wall and side flanges, there being alined slots in said flanges, a detachable wearing plate slidably received in said flange slots, and releasable means for retaining the same in assembled position.

2. A trolley frog including a bottom wall and side flanges, a seat arranged centrally of said frog, there being alined slots in said flanges communicating with said seat, a de tachable wearing plate moved laterally into said slots and seat, means to prevent the lateral displacement of the same, and means engaging a side face of said wearing plate to force the same into positive engagement with the seat and slots.

3. A trolley frog including a base plate and side flanges, wire-holding flanges carried by each end of said base plate, a seat formed in said base plate between said wire flanges and having undercut end walls, one of said walls being arranged at an angle relative to the other, a wearing plate having beveled'ends adapted to be received in said recess, there being slots in said flanges adapted to facilitate the reception of the wearing plate in the seat, coeperating extensions carried by the wear plate and base plate, means to prevent lateral movement of said wear plate, and means for forcing the beveled ends of the wear plate into positive engagement with the undercut end walls of the seat and slots.

4. A trolley frog including a base plate and side flanges, a wearing plate slidable laterally of said base plate and interlocked therewith, means for preventing lateral movement of said wearing plate and releasable means engaging a side face of the wearing plate to force the same into positive engagement with the flanges.

5. The combination with a trolley frog including side flanges, and a seat having undercut end walls provided therein, of a wearing plate having beveled end walls slidably associated with said seat, and means for forcing the beveled end walls of the wearing plate into positive locking engagement with the undercut end walls of the recesses.

6. A trolley frog including a bottom wall and side flanges, wheel guide flanges arranged at the ends of the wall, a seat formed in the wall between said flanges, there being alined slots in said flanges communicating with said seat, one Wall of said seat and slots being arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the frog while the other end of said seat and slots are arranged at an angle to the aforesaid end, said end walls being beveled, a Wearing plate having beveled end walls adapted for seating in said seat and flange slots, means for preventing removal of said plate, and means for forcing the beveled ends of the wearing plate into engagement with the beveled ends of the seat and slot.

7. A trolley frog including a base plate and side flanges, each flange having a slot therein of different lengths, a wearing plate having one end angularly-disposed relative to the other end to provide a long and short side, said wearing plate adapted to be received in said slots, and releasable means engaging a side face of said plate to force Copies 'of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the the same into positive engagement with the frog flanges.

8. A trolley frog including a base plate and side flanges, there being slots in said flanges, a lateral extension carried by the base plate, a wearing plate positioned in the flange slots, an extension carried by the wearing plate adapted to lie juxtaposed to the base plate extension, and means associated with said extensions whereby the base plate and wearing plate are held relatively WILLIAM H. BROWVN.

Witnesses:

NORMAN L. MAY, JOSEPH KUHLMAN.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

